42 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
and carried well up. The carriage of the hen similar to that of the cock in 
general character, but the head is carried much lower, and the neatness and fine 
expression of face is extremely pleasing in really high-bred specimens. 
“ The plumage in the cock is very soft, owl-like, and exceedingly downy, giving a 
peculiar softness to the general appearance. Cochins possess a great bulk of 
feathers, each one being wider across than in other fowls. In the hen the peculiar 
softness of the plumage is more marked even than in the cock, especially on the 
thighs and saddle. 
“ The neck-hackle of the cock is extremely full, and of a rich but light hay 
colour, spreading over the base of the wings. It is desirable that there should 
not he any markings whatever on the hackles. The hackle in the hen should 
he a distinct clear buff, without any markings whatever ; but a slightly pencilled 
hackle is far less objectionable than a clouded one. 
** The saddle of the cock should be very full, and free from pencillings of any 
kind. Cockerels of the year will sometimes moult out perfectly clear at two years 
old, though imperfect as chickens. The saddle of the hen should be without any 
markings whatever ; the colour being a clear buff from the roots to the tips of the 
feathers. 
The tail of the cock is very short and compact, soft, and free from hard stiff 
feathers; if the principal feathers are bronzed in colour, it adds much to the 
appearance of the bird, but a black tail is also admissible. The tail- coverts are 
peculiarly brilliant, flexible, and fine. The hen’s tail is much less conspicuous 
than that of the male ; buff tails the most approved, although the colour generally 
approaches to black in the larger feathers. Wry tails, in either sex, are an 
abomination. 
“ The breast in both cock and hen should be clear buff, well furnished with 
feathers, each one of which is prone to run somewhat lighter in colour towards the 
tip ; but the more pure the self-colour throughout, the better. 
‘‘ The upper wing-coverts and shoulder in the cock should be clear, but a little 
darker than the body generally ; in the hen, the same colour as the body. The 
lower wing-coverts of the cock approach to a clear deep-coloured bay. If the 
wings are light in their first year, the birds are apt to become grizzled with white 
after a few moultings, which is a great imperfection. A clear dark- winged cock 
always produces the best-coloured chickens. The lower wing-coverts in the hen 
are of the same colour as the body. 
‘‘Both primary and secondary quills should be clear buff, without admixture 
of other colours. 
“The thighs of the cock are stronger than those of any other variety; exceed- 
ingly heavy in the feathering ; all the feathers sit very loosely, and are peculiarly 
downy, forming in part what is commonly called the fluff. The shafts of these 
feathers should be weak and flexible, contrasting with the firm stiff feathers pro- 
ducing the “Falcon-hock,” which is to be regarded as a defect. In the hen the 
fluffiness of the thighs is far more conspicuous than in the cocks. 
